Papa's Embrace
by Zebvlun
Summary: Two years ago, Sasagawa Yuu's father was abducted and he lived alone ever since. How will he find the missing sun guardian and who would he meet while looking for him? First person POV. Next gen fic. Made for Father's Day. ENJOY! HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!
1. Chapter 1

I was sleeping on my bed soundly. The rays of the afternoon sun striking the sheets that covered me. The door of my room opened and I woke up.

"Yuu-chaaan." I heard my father's voice mumble somewhat drowsily.

"You've been drinking again, weren't you, Papa?" I asked, laying still on the bed with my back turned to him.

"Aah. We had a party in Yamamoto's place and it was extreme!" he replied.

I heard him knock his shoes off his feet as he walked towards the bed. I felt my blanket being pulled up and the edge of my bed sinking with the weight pressed upon it.

Papa yawned and laid beside me.

"You stink." I muttered, smelling the alcohol from my father.

"Mmmh." He drowsily protested.

Papa moved close to me. I felt his sinewy arms wrap my body and pull me close to him. I can smell my father thoroughly, now that my head rested on his chest. The smell of alcohol was dominant but I can still smell that familiar, fatherly scent that was common to me. I know that it is quite uncomfortable being hugged by a drunk boxer, but as long as I know that they are my father's arms around me, I still feel secure, protected, safe, comfortable, happy and loved.

I smiled at the recollection of the memory I treasured from five years ago, when I was nine years old. I wrapped the denim jacket on my body tighter; if only it could replace Papa's embrace, but no, nothing else could replace it. I wanted to cry as I sat on the dark alley with my knees curled up to my chin, but, as Papa told me, boys don't cry. I have been living alone for two years now, but it still hurts, especially when you do not know the whereabouts of your father who was the only person you've got in your whole life.

"Let go! Let go of me!" I heard a girl's voice shout.

I stood up and saw a girl being assaulted by three men. I walked towards them from behind the boxes where I had been sitting.

"Oy." I called out to the men. "Don't you know that women are supposed to be taken care of?"

_Tss, how ironic, _I thought, _I do not even recall having a woman in my life, my mother died when I was young._

"This is none of your business, kid!" One of the men spat at me.

I scanned the men. I can tell from their attires that they were Mafioso. I smirked. "Yes, it is my business."

I readied my fists for a fight.

One of the men stepped forward.

Straight left, right uppercut, twist jab; the man was knocked out in an instant.

I went to the other two who held the girl.

Empty hand strikes on both their arms paralyzed their hands and their grip on the girl's wrists loosened.

They attempted to run away but I caught their collars and pulled them back. I grasped their heads in each of my hands and smacked them together with great force. I let go of their heads and they fell on the ground with a loud thud.

"Are you hurt?" I asked the girl.

Her orange-brown eyes gazed at me. "No, I'm fine."

"Aw, c'mon, don't fool me. Your wrists are bruised."

She looked at her wrists.

"Does it hurt? I can't heal it, but I can ease the pain." I told her. I warmed my palms and held her wrists.

"It's warm." She said.

"Is the pain relieved?"

"Yes."

"Hey! What are you doing to her?" A boy with silver locks hollered when he saw us.

I withdrew my hands from the girl's wrists.

"Sora, are you alright? Did he hurt you?" the boy with silver locks asked her.

"No, he didn't hurt me, Arashi. As a matter of fact, he was helping me." She explained.

"Is she your girlfriend?" I asked the boy.

The boy blushed a little, but he kept on glaring at me with his fierce green eyes.

"Well, you better take care of her. Don't you know that she was attacked by some Mafioso?" I said, glancing at the three unconscious men on the ground.

"What? Sora, is that true?" the boy asked, turning to the girl whose name turned out to be Sora.

"Y-yes, they tried to kidnap me again."

I raised a brow at the word 'again'. I wanted to ask further but I do not want to have anything more to do with the mafia. I do not want to have anything more to do with the business that my father used to be involved with and is now responsible for his loss, or maybe, his death.

I walked away, my fists uncontrollably shaking as thoughts of the mafia filled my head. The mafia killed my mother when I was three; the mafia took my father away from me two years ago; the mafia gave me this nasty scar below my lip when they abducted Papa. That event two years ago provided a new life for me; a new life alone, without my father, away from the mafia. But I know that the mafia would seek me and will soon find me. I know that I would not be able to escape the life of a Mafioso that my father lived. That girl, Sora, and that boy, Arashi, came to my mind; maybe they were forced into the mafia too, maybe they did not want that kind of life too, maybe… maybe they are connected to someone who might know where my father, Sasagawa Ryohei, is. I stopped and tried to head back and ask them.

"Nonsense!" I told myself. "I don't want to be involved further anymore."

I turned back and continued walking forward.

_Shit, _I suddenly thought, _I've got to pay my rent next week; I must be earning some money now!_

I ran off as fast as my feet could carry me; to the place I call 'my workplace'.

**Author's Note:**

Sora means sky and Arashi means storm…

So, maybe you have a clue…

*wink*

**REVIEWS ARE EXTREMELY WELCOME! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

My workplace is a crowded, stinky, ill-lit area with a makeshift ring at the center. I really have two jobs; this one, where I'm headed right now, and a part-time lifeguard at the public pool, just like my father when he was around my age, but hey, I'm a much better swimmer than Papa! But then, being a part-time lifeguard does not earn me enough money to pay all I've got to pay and buy all I've got to buy in order to live my life; and so, I decided to fight for survival, literally. I am a prize-fighter in an underground arena; well, it is better than using the speed of my hands by picking pockets in the streets. I risk my life in every fight and people risk their money on me; if they win through me, I get a percentage of their winnings, but if I lose, well, I really lose. I dedicate every fight to my father; I consider every punch a touch closer to finding him and every kick a step nearer to where he is, but I consider every blow that hits me a push worth three steps away from him.

"Akio is here!" I heard someone from the crowd announce.

For the past two years, I was not Sasagawa Yuu, I was Hakujitsu Akio. Why? Because I wanted to live a new life and I want to lead the mafia away from me. I have enough evidence to say that they looked for me during all those years. I do not know if the ones looking for me were friends or foes, but whichever they are, they're still mafia and I extremely refuse to get into it. Though I know that once I reunited with Papa, I would not be able to escape the mafia life anymore, but I don't care because I know that Papa would be there for me. Right now, I must admit that I am afraid, and that's the reason why I'm trying to escape the mafia life. I am afraid to enter that horrible world alone, without my father to aid me. But, I would tell myself over and over again, I _cannot_ escape that kind of life; I promise that once I know of my father's whereabouts, whether he is dead or alive, I would stop running away and face my destiny.

I took my denim jacket off and stepped into the rickety ring. A bell rang and the crowd cheered, signaling the start of the bout.

My opponent joined me in the ring.

_This is going to be easy. _I thought, after seeing Kou-niisan, my opponent.

Kou-niisan is one of my friends in this kind of industry. He was older than me by two years. He entered prize-fighting with the same motives as I have: to fight for survival, literally. Yesterday, he told me that he found a better, high-paying job and that his bout for this afternoon would be his farewell fight before leaving the arena.

"I'm gonna lose that fight." Kou-niisan told me as we sat on a bench together yesterday, drinking our root beers. The only thing he did not foresee is the fact that I'm the one he's going to fight.

Kou-niisan put up a good fight or show, rather, and I helped him with it. I still fought seriously, though the outcome is already known to both of us. In the end, I won, of course. I gathered my winnings which were of a great amount that I can pay the rent for my apartment immediately and still have some more left. I treated Kou-niisan to a snack of pizza and root beer, our favorites.

"Why don't you work with me, Akio?" Kou-niisan asked me as we sat on the docks together, eating pizza.

"What's the work?" I asked, a little interested.

Kou-niisan leaned over to me and spoke with a hushed tone. "I'm into the mafia."

My entire body froze, the pizza slice I was lifting dropped from my fingers.

"Whaddaya say, huh?"

"Er." I stammered and lifted the pizza slice once more. "No, thank you."

"Ooh, you'd be sorry! It pays five times of what we get from here."

"I-if that's so," I tried to sound normal "What's your job in the m-ma-mafia?" I just can't bear to say that goddamned word!

"Hm? I belong to this search group. We need to look for this boy named Sasagawa Yuu."

I tried my best not to blurt out the root beer I had recently sipped. I swallowed it with some difficulty and I was coughing afterward.

"Something wrong, Akio?" Kou-niisan asked me, concerned.

"N-nothing." I drank some more rootbeer and sighed deeply. "What're gonna do if you find him?"

"TERMINATE." He said, closing his palms as he spoke.

I shuddered slightly. "Wh-why? What has he done?"

"You seem quite interested with the matter, Akio."

"Well, why won't I? Of course I'd like to know the job thoroughly before jumping into it." I said defensively.

"So, you want the job, don't you?"

I nodded.

"Very well then," Kou-niisan cleared his troat. "This boy is a next generation member of this Vongola family, and this family is an enemy of the family I'd be working for. Right now, my family is looking for every next generation member of the Vongola and they are going to kill them afterward so that the Vongola would easily be destroyed."

_Sora! _I though; _Maybe that's why those guys were trying to kidnap Sora, and that boy, Arashi; both of them are in danger!_

"Hm? Is anything wrong?" Kou-niisan asked, noticing my expression.

"And this boy," I tried to sound casual and lead the conversation into my refusing the job. "This boy did nothing wrong to the family you'd be workin' for?"

Kou-niisan glared at me.

"If that's the case, Kou-niisan, _I'm not into it_." I said, stressing the last phrase. I stood up. "Think about it, Nii-san, you'd be 'terminating' an innocent kid who did not even harm you?" _Lies, pure lies, I just harmed him in our recent brawl._

Kou-niisan kept on glaring at me. "Y-you're right."

"Well, Kou-niisan, it's already too late for you to refuse."

"No. I'll refuse. I'll go straight to them right now and tell them I'm backing out." He stood up.

I turned my back into him and began to walk away. "I won't be surprised," I muttered. "If I'd get the news of your death tomorrow, Kou-niisan."

He sank back into the bench, helpless.

"You're already into it. Now, there's no escaping it." I said and turned back to him.

He just kept on sitting on the bench helplessly while gazing blankly into space, thinking thoroughly of how the matters stood.

I walked towards him and pulled out a dagger from my jacket as I did so. When I was in front of him, I flung the dagger straight into his heart within the blink of an eye.

"I'm sorry, Kou-niisan." I whispered into his ear as I wrapped my hand around him while the other held the dagger on his chest. "If I won't kill you, you'd kill me."

"S-sasagawa Yuu." He whispered weakly.

Tears rolled down from my eyes when I heard him call my name before dying. It has been two years ever since I was last called that name, and the last time I heard this name, it came from Papa's lips. I withdrew the dagger from him and hugged him.

"I'm sorry, Kou-niisan. I'm so sorry." I sobbed.

**Author's note:**

YAY! Let's get to the name meanings again! :D

Hakujitsu- bright sunshine

Akio- glorious hero

Yuu- superior (well, I just derived 'Yuu' from my own name, and it turned out it's got a Japanese meaning as well.)

Kou- light

**~PLEASE REVIEW TO THE EXTREME!~ **


	3. Chapter 3

Murder is not new to me. In the course of two years, I have already killed five people; three of them died in the ring, fighting me. I killed two in self defense, including Kou-niisan, the other is one of Papa's kidnappers.

I lay on the bed of my apartment that night; the recent kill losing its weight in my conscience. I closed my eyes and soon fell asleep.

"Yuu!" the voice of a distressed woman called me.

"Who are you? Where are you?"

"Yuu!" the voice called out again.

"Who are you? Where are you?"

"Yuu…" the darkness ceased and I saw the interior of a house, it was a familiar house, it _was my _house. I can feel that arms were wrapped around me but I can feel something more.

_What's this?_ I thought. _It's wet, but warm…_

"Mama!" I heard myself call out.

My mother, Sasagawa Hana, was hugging me with blood flowing out of her body onto mine.

"You bastard!" I heard my father's voice bellow.

There were sounds of punches thrown, one loud thud and a groan, then silence and darkness.

"Yuu!" this time, a man's voice.

"Papa!" the darkness was pulled off.

"C'mon, you know what to do!" Papa yelled at me as he struggled from the grasp of a man. His powerful hands were tied up behind him while the stranger was pushing him down to a kneeling position.

"But Papa—" a grip on my neck tightened and I felt the cold tip of a knife.

"Don't you ever hurt my son!" with a sudden rush of adrenaline upon seeing the knife on my throat, Papa jumped up and kicked the man holding him then ran towards me.

The man he knocked off a while ago recovered quickly and was now upon his knees with a gun aimed at my father.

"Papa!" I tried to warn him but the man holding me pulled me back.

The man kneeling behind Papa pulled the trigger and shot my father on the right knee, unabling him to run.

Papa lifted up his left leg but it was also shot and so was his right shoulder. My father laid on the ground with his hands bind behind him. He lifted his head and looked straight into my own eyes which were copies of his. "Sasagawa Yuu, run out of here to the extreme!"

It was a command. I kicked the man holding me between his legs. His grasp on me loosened and I tackled him to the ground.

The man slashed his knife on my face and wounded me deeply from the right part of my lower lip down to my chin.

I punched his face, feeling his jaws crush against my fist.

His hand dropped the knife. I took it then stabbed him with it.

Meanwhile, the man who shot Papa managed to knock my father unconscious and lift him on his shoulder.

I stood up and ran away but the opponent who carried Papa shot me. It was a good thing that the bullet barely made it to my heel.

I continued running as fast and as far as I could. I did not know which direction I am heading to; all I knew is that Sasagawa Ryohei told me to run out of that place to the extreme. Darkness, everything before me was darkness, but I continued running, keeping Papa's words in mind. And then, there was a great flash of luminance.

I opened my eyes to the blinding sunlight that beamed into my room.

_That dream again. No, it wasn't a dream, they're memories; memories of my mother's death eleven years ago and of my father's loss two years ago._

I stood up and went to the bathroom with my towel and bathrobe.

"Sasagawa Yuu, run out of here to the extreme!" Papa's words kept ringing in my mind as the cold water gushed down my body.

"Was he…" I mumbled. "Was he telling me to not just run out of that place but also run from the mafia?"

I shook my head. _Words just make their way out of Papa's mouth without passing through his brain sometimes._

As my hand was pressed on the tiled wall with my head bowed down below the shower, I saw blood flowing along with the water from the wall down to the floor. I looked up and saw my hand against the wall which was the source of the blood. I pulled my hand away and stared at the blood-smeared palm.

"Kou-niisan." I said, recalling the events of last night. It was his blood coating my right palm.

_I wonder where I can find Sora and Arashi._

I washed the blood from my hands.

_I need to tell tem about the plans of that other family, if I don't, Kou-niisan's death would not be worth it._

**Author's note:**

'unabling' huh, that's not even in the dictionary but it's in my vocabulary. But you know what it means don't you? Well, if you don't, it means depriving the ability to do something.

I know this chapter sucks but I'll make it up in the coming chapters. :D

**R&R**


	4. Chapter 4

I'm working in the pool today. I get to roam around the place all day in my swimming trunks. I prefer walking around than sitting on that seat up there only to get buttsores. Perhaps, walking around and checking on everybody at the pool gets me up-close to all those hot girls in bathing suits. The pool is crowded today because it's a weekend. I walked around easily and peacefully, seeing to it that everyone is having fun. I saw a boy on his father's shoulders with his mother walking beside them; I smiled with a tint of bitterness. I have a vague memory of me being in that boy's place in this very same pool along with my parents, but it was so vague that I'm likely to lose it within a minute because, just like Papa, I have a very short-term memory.

"You'd learn how to swim with this immediately." I heard a familiar voice say.

I turned to the direction of the voice and saw Arashi together with Sora and another girl who was laughing as Arashi explained some scientific laws about buoyancy to them.

"Oy, Amaya, this is not something to laugh at!" Arashi told the other girl.

"Haha. Sorry. You see, we're in the pool, wouldn't she learn more quickly if she just practices?" the girl named Amaya said.

Sora spotted me and ran over to me. "A-ahno," she said, "I forgot to thank you yesterday."

"It's nothing." I replied.

"Hahi! Aren't you the boy from yesterday? Are you following us?" Arashi asked when he saw me.

"It's normal for me to be here, I work as a lifeguard n this pool." I said.

"Wow! You're a lifeguard?" the girl called Amaya said upon hearing me, "Maybe you can teach Sora how to swim. She would not learn from me and she's not likely to learn from Arashi's scientific laws."

"She'll learn with my method, you'll see!" Arashi told Amaya.

"You don't know how to swim?" I asked Sora.

Sora shook her head.

"All right, I'll teach you." I waded into the pool. "Just do what I do, okay?" I held the wall of the pool and let my torso and legs float on the water.

Sora waded into the pool too and held the wall but it seemed that she cannot assume the same position I am in right now.

"Stretch your arms." I said gently and she did so. "Now, relax your body and let your stomach float on the water."

Sora did as how I told her.

"Good. Now, paddle your feet so that you'd keep on floating, not too strong but not too weak, just relax." I instructed her and paddled my feet too.

Sora was an obedient student but I noticed that she was holding her breath.

"No, don't hold your breath, just relax and breathe calmly."

She breathed normally.

"Keep on doing that." I said and let go of my grip on the pool's wall then stood on the pool's floor with the water touching my chin.

I could see Arashi and Amaya were watching us as I taught their friend.

I stretched my arm below Sora's belly. "Now, let go of the wall. Don't be afraid, I'm here."

Sora pulled herself away from the wall of the pool.

"Good. Now, you know what to do with your hands, don't you?"

Sora dug her hands in and out of the water.

"That's great. Keep on paddling your feet while doing it, okay?"

"O-okay." She replied. Sora moved forward. "I-I'm swimming! I can't believe it!" She said excitedly.

"Yes, that's it. But remember, always relax and don't force your legs and arms to do it fast. You're in water and water makes you tire easily, and if you get tired in the middle of it, you'll drown." I said as I followed her with my arms still beneath her stomach if ever she drowns.

"Okay."

I withdrew my arms and said, "Now, swim."

Sora kept on swimming forward on the water while bearing in mind the things I told her.

"That's one nice teaching out there." Amaya told me as I went out of the water.

"I must admit that Sora indeed learned fast with you." Arashi said.

"Thanks." Was all I could say.

This time, Sora has returned to us after swimming on her own.

"That was great, thank you." She told me.

"Oh, don't mention it, that's part of my job to ensure that nobody drowns here." I said. "Anyway, can you guys spare a moment; I've got to tell you something extremely important."

Sora, Arashi and Amaya followed me to an area in the pool where I am sure that nobody else can hear us.

"Now," I said, turning to them, "Are you the next generation members of the Vongola family?"

All three looked surprised.

"Yes, we are, and some other kids out there." Arashi replied.

I nodded. "Another family seeks you all and when they find you, they would kill you." I explained briskly.

"What did you say?" Amaya said.

"An opposing family is currently looking for the next generation members of the Vongola Family in order to kill them. Now that I know you're next generation Vongola, I must warn you to always be on your guard."

"What? How could we even trust you when you are a complete stranger to us?" Arashi yelled at me.

"Can't you just appreciate the fact that I'm doing something good for your sake?" I yelled back, offended that my goodwill was doubted.

A tension has broken between Arashi and me.

Then suddenly, Sora stepped in between.

"Hold on a sec, Arashi." She told the boy. "Could you…" she turned to me, "Could you be my cousin, Sasagawa Yuu?"

**-0-0-0-0-0-**

**Author's note:**

Amaya means night rain, just so you know.

Oh yeah, that new word again, 'buttsores'. You know what I mean right? You don't? Well, what a bummer, I'm not good at explaining such obvious things. Buttsore means the aching of your buttocks due to sitting for a long time, that's why I never ever sit for more than two hours. You could even catch me standing in front of my computer while typing. lol

Mmkei, our Yuu taught swimming in this chapter! So, you guys who don't know how to swim yet, better follow his instructions, okay. I don't know if this will work for you but that was how I taught my cousin how to swim. Yeah, I got to teach my cousin too in real life.

Ne, I really enjoyed that episode where everybody tried to teach Tsuna how to swim. I could remember the younger me in Ryohei, I would move and move my body underwater for hours and find out that I'm still in the same spot. XD

**Are you enjoying it? REVIEW!**


	5. Chapter 5

I froze at the mention of my real name, but I shrugged it off and acted like I did not know anything.

"What're you saying?" I asked Sora as I tried to act innocent.

"Well," Sora replied. "I have a cousin who had gone missing along with his father, my uncle, two years ago. He's also a next generation Vongola; I just got this feeling that you are him."

"Oh, is that so?" I tried to say with nonchalance. "Sorry, miss; I'm not your cousin. My name is Hakujitsu Akio, by the way."

"I'm Sawada Sora." She said, finally introducing herself formally.

"My name is Yamamoto Amaya." The cheerful girl said.

"I am Gokudera Arashi." The boy with silver locks told me. "And I doubt the knowledge you hold about us."

"Yeah, I kinda doubt you too." Amaya said.

_Damn! _I thought. _If I told them the truth about my name a while ago, they must not be doubting me like this right now. Oh shit, Yuu, you're such an idiot!_

"Can you please tell us how you knew about us and the plan of killing us?" Sora asked me.

"Uhh, okay." I cleared my throat. "I've got a friend who's supposed to be working for that other family right now and since I also need money like he does, he tried to get me into the job of killing you and he told me all about it, but I refused. Yesterday, as you may know, I came across Sora who was being kidnapped by some Mafioso; and when my friend told me about that evil plan of killing y'all last night, you guys hit my mind and I thought that maybe you're next generation Vongola members and that's why these guys were trying to get you. So, when I met you today, I decided to tell you about it." I spilled out.

Sora, Arashi and Amaya were all staring at me as I explained myself to them.

"Well, don't worry, I've gotten rid of that guy already." The words automatically flowed out of my mind.

Their stare intensified.

"O-oh, thank you, then." Sora said.

"Um, Sora, shouldn't we be leaving now?" Amaya said, glancing at her wristwatch.

"Oh yes! Dad's got something to do for us." Sora remembered. "We must go now. Thanks for all your help, Akio-san."

"Glad to help." I replied.

"Oh, and please," Sora looked directly into my eyes. "If you happen to hear about this boy named Sasagawa Yuu, please tell us."

"Why?" I immediately asked.

"We're desperately looking for him." Arashi replied.

"Why're you looking for m—" I almost said 'me'. "him?"

"We can't tell you, delicate mafia matters and you're a civilian, we can't let you to be deeply involved with us."

_Well, I don't want to get involved further too. But hey! It concerns _me! ME!

"Goodbye, then, Akio-san." Amaya addressed me.

"Bye." I said as they walked away.

While they were walking away from me, I saw Sora look back at me, as if she was verifying my identity.

_The super intuition is always with the sky. _I recalled.

**-end-**

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	6. Chapter 6

Before going back to my apartment that afternoon, I managed to pass by the house with 'Sasagawa' written on the wall that fenced it. By this time of day, the house is supposed to be lit up with bright lights and a man with spiky pallid hair would be watering the flower bed that his wife used to keep. A boy with shuffled dark brown hair is also supposed to be sprinkling water on the beautiful flowers with the blue sprinkler he was holding. The boy would admire the magnificence of the flowers and his father would compare them with his late wife. The boy would smile and muster all his hazy memories of his mother then agree with his father.

But now, as the sun sank into the western horizon, the house was empty and lifeless. The lights of the house were not lit, the gate and the back and front doors were all locked, the boy and his father were not watering the flower bed and a young man was standing across the street, peering into the house as a gentle breeze blew his wavy shoulder-length dark brown hair and the scar that went down from his lower lip to his chin slightly twitched as he suppressed a tear.

I jumped up the wall surrounding the house and my feet landed on the front lawn within a second. I made my way into the house by unlocking the front door with the key duplicate that managed to survive with me for two years. I switched on the light and found the interior as how it is supposed to look. I congratulated myself for somehow maintaining the house that _was_ my home clean. My father used to mess it up but a certain trait I inherited from Mama kept him from totally doing so. But now that Papa is not here to do it, I had the urge to scramble it myself but I would just end up tidying it myself too. I walked on towards the place where Papa and I keep the gardening tools. I picked up the blue sprinkler and filled it with tap water and went to my mother's flower bed. The pretty flowers have not yet withered because I have been taking care of them secretly for the past two years. I held up the handle of the sprinkler and let the water flow from the spout onto the plants. Even though it has been a long time since Mama died, Papa still took care of the flowers in order to preserve her memory. Mama was, and will always be, the flower of Papa's life and Papa was, and _had always been_, the refreshing brightness of Mama's life. Now, I keep on taking care of the flowers to preserve both their memories. But my cleaning the whole house was a different thing; I keep on doing it, hoping that the man who used to jumble it would come back and mess it again soon.

_I've stayed too long; someone in the neighborhood might notice the lights. _I thought, glancing at my watch.

I stood up and returned the sprinkler to its place. As I walked towards the front door, I suddenly felt like going to the living room. I shifted my steps and walked to where I felt like going. When I entered the said room, the first thing I saw was our family picture taken a week before Mama died. My feet reluctantly took me to the picture and my hands took it in them without me thinking about it. My fingers wavered upon the glass that was embedded on the frame and tried to touch my parents' faces as if they're really there. I sneaked the picture into my bag.

"This belongs to me too, anyway. So technically, I'm not stealing anything." I muttered to myself.

I went out of the house and jumped on the fence.

"Hey you!" I heard a man's voice shout upon seeing me on top of the fence.

I quickly jumped off and ran away.

"Come back here you thief!" I heard the man holler as he chased me.

I ran as fast as I could until I looked back to see that the man who mistook me for a thief has surrendered the chase.

**~END of chapter 6~**

**Author's note:**

I thought about naming a certain species of flowers but I did not know what to mention. Anyways, Hana means flower and Ryo means refreshing brightness, that's why I wrote that mushy sentence. XD

**If you've got something to say about the story, whether** **it's good or if it's a constructive criticism, please tell me in the REVIEWS. :D**


	7. Chapter 7

"I caught an intruder in Sasagawa's house." A Mafioso reported to his boss. "I thought he was a burglar, but he dropped this, which, I guess, is what he took from the house." The man handed a framed picture to the one sitting on the chair across the table.

"He definitely isn't." The boss said. "We have found Sasagawa Yuu."

**-O-**

As soon as I was back in my apartment, I searched my bag for the family picture I took from our house. I looked inside the bag, I sought every pocket; I was nervous when the picture was nowhere to be found.

"Oh damn, did I drop it somewhere?" I asked myself.

I considered going back and tracing my steps, but I was not that foolish as to neglect the time. It has almost been an hour or two since I arrived home and somebody must have laid his filthy hands on our precious family picture.

"SHIT!" I yelled and fell into a chair.

That picture was just too precious. I could still remember that Papa used to wipe it gently and caressingly everyday and then, he'd tell me, "Yuu-chan, we must take care of this picture because it's the most recent family picture of us before your Mama died, it is a treasure to the extreme." I felt guilty, extremely guilty for the lost picture. I've lost my mother, I've lost my father, and now, I've lost our family picture! Geez, I feel like I'm next in line to go missing. Oh, what the hell was I thinking; I'm already _missing!_

I spent a sleepless night that night. My feet stomped the floor as I paced the room up and down, blaming myself for the lost picture. I threw my body on the bed occasionally in hopes of getting some sleep but drowse would not take me. I was so busy walking around my room and murmuring things to myself that I did not notice the rays of the dawning sun light up the place until I collapsed on the bed again and glared at the windows.

"Morning already." I complained though I kept still on the bed.

It was amazing how the sunlight reaches out to almost every place. It was also amazing how that gigantic ball of fire light up the whole world everyday. The sun is so bright, so warm, so pleasing, and so selfless and it's always up there in the sky. Papa is a sun guardian; he's bright (_may not be intellectually but Papa lights up my world and some other people's world somehow_), he's warm (_he's always heated up, yeah_), he's pleasing (_in some way, but not always_), and the only thing I can't give justification to is the fact that he's not here. I sighed and peered out of the window up to the blazing sun.

"If only I could be you." I told the sun. "Your rays reach out to almost every place and probably, you know what's happening beneath you."

A sudden thought came to me and I leaned further out of the window. "Do you know where my Papa is?"

The sun did not reply, just burning, blazing, flaming radiance.

"We know where Sasagawa Ryohei is." A man in black suit said as he approached my window through the balcony just outside it.

"Who the hell're you?" I spat at him.

"We could show you where your father is if you'd come with us." Another man said.

"I repeat, who the fuck're you?"

"We came from the Tenebre family."

"Are you the ones who took my father?"

"We've no time to chat with you, kid." The man flicked his fingers and two men suddenly dragged me out of the window.

A handkerchief was pressed on my nose and mouth. I smelled something sweet but intoxicating which, I guess, is what they call chloroform.

**~end of chapter~**

**Author's note:**

Tenebre means darkness in Italian.

Hey, I don't know the smell of chloroform! I just got its description accidentally from the Encarta dictionary. (If I can call that accidentally or coincidentally, whatever.)

Sorry for the bad words! *blocks the screen when father passes by*

Father: are you hiding something?

33Riddles: nuh-uh

Father: then why are you blocking the monitor.

33Riddles: I'm not blocking the monitor! I'm just warming my hands, you see, they're cold!

Father: I can't _see_ that they're cold. *walks off laughing at his lame joke*

33Riddles: O well, it's got to pass that way. *sigh*

**Anyway, PLEASE REVIEW!**


	8. Chapter 8

"Wake up kid!" I felt my ribcage being kicked.

I opened my eyes and saw the interior of a car. My mind was hazy and I was drowsy. I wriggled my hands, they were tied behind me.

My collar was harshly pulled up and I was dragged out of the car into the blinding sunlight. I was still partly asleep, so I did not protest as men in suits led me into a building. We stepped into an elevator and I decided to keep quiet while trying to remember what happened to me before waking up in that car.

"We know where Sasagawa Ryohei is." I recalled them saying.

"Hey," I broke the silence. "Can I ask you something?"

The elevator door opened.

"You better ask our boss." One of them replied and pushed me out of the elevator.

They led me into hallways and I soon found myself in a spacious room which was more like the room of a cult. The theme of the room is black; black carpets, black couches, black drawers, black cabinets, black-dominated murals, black decorations, black everything. There was a superior-looking table in front of the glass wall which serves a window to the outside realm. The window was deprived of lighting up the whole room by pitch-black curtains which were partly drawn, only letting a narrow strip of sunlight illuminate the middle of the room from the table to the door, like a golden aisle. Between the table and the window was a big and somewhat regal black chair which faced the other way.

"Sit down, Yuu-kun, be my guest." A deep, man's voice addressed me from behind the chair with a gesture from a pale but unblemished left hand motioning me to sit on the chair by the left side of the table.

The men who accompanied me into the room helped me on the said chair with my hands still tightly tied behind me.

"You may go." The man on the chair told his subordinates.

The men bowed down and left the room.

"I heard you have a question to ask." The man told me. "Feel free to ask it."

I hesitated because my fascination of the extreme darkness and blackness of the room made me forget what my question was. "Umm," I tried to come up with an alternative query. "Why do you plan to take us, the children of the guardians, instead of taking the guardians themselves?"

"Where did you learn of that plan?" The chair spun around, revealing a tall man seated on the chair. He was dressed in an elegant but simple black shirt buttoned up to his chest, suggesting a debonair personality. His long, crossed legs were also clothed in black pants devoured by black laced-up boots for the last six or seven inches. His piercing eyes and his pony-tailed long hair were also deep black. The man was around his mid thirties. His dark apparel, hair and eyes were contradicted by his snow-white complexion which was complemented by his European features, making him look somewhat like a vampire, but his accent was perfect and fluent.

"Tss. How unprofessional of you! I thought you were monitoring me all this time." I replied. I was still under the influence of drowse which makes me as tactless as my father.

The man laughed. "You're amusing Yuu-kun, just like your father. How unprofessional of us indeed! But tell me, who told you the plan?"

_His manners were light and easy. _"Kou-niisan told me. He was supposed to be working for you." _But I would never fall for his style. _"But I killed him when he told me he'd kill me." I added with malice in my tone.

"Ah. You must be talking about Matsui Kou. Yes, we found him dead the other day. My, my, Yuu-kun is a deadly little boy." The man said with his unfading manner. He swung his chair around once more and viewed the outdoors. "We decided to take the next generation Vongola instead of the current because you're not as heavily guarded as your parents. And perhaps, every child is a loving parent's weakness, am I right, Yuu-kun?"

I had something to say and a question to ask. _Do the heavily guarded guardians include Papa? And you're making _the incident_ two years ago an example for your last sentence, aren't you? _But these things did not make their way into his ears because I voiced another question instead.

"You seem to be waiting for someone or something to arrive." I said as I noticed his constant viewing of the road in front of the building through the window.

"Anytime now, the children of the other guardians would also be seized and then, when all of you are gathered here, I will have you all dead." He explained cheerily.

A slight smile uncontrollably curled on my lips. I had the urge to laugh at him but I wanted to play some more. "Can I, um, ask you something?"

"Yes. What is it?"

"Since I'm going to die anytime now," I suppressed a snigger. "Can you please tell me…" I just really wanted to kill the time and so, I have not really prepared a question. I bowed my head to think.

"Tell you what happened to Sasagawa Ryohei?" he finished it for me.

My head shot up and glared at him. That was the question I forgot to ask a while ago!

"Very well! Since your going to die soon, I'll tell you." The chair spun around and he looked at me. "I intended to kill your father when we kidnapped him. But then, your father turned out to be someone who could be highly efficient to us, the Tenebre family, so, instead of killing him, I decided to turn his to our side."

"Idiot! Papa is a man of extreme dignity! You can never turn him to your side! NEVER!" I roared at him with a sudden outburst.

The man leaned over to me and rested his chin on his clasped hands with his elbows on the table. He smiled slyly and spoke in a tone like that of someone who is about to tell a deep and ancient secret. "Do you know how blacksmiths bend metals, Yuu-kun? They put them through the burning, blazing, smoldering, scourging flames and hammer them to shape."

"You _tortured_ Papa!" I yelled, my eyes wide with fiery rage.

The man gave a low chuckle and turned his chair around once more.

-**end of chapter-**

**Author's note:**

This would be finished by Father's day, I swear! *Gets saddened by the nearing Father's day* I fear that I may not be spending the day with my father. He's going to accompany his sister on a trip, my uncle is too busy to do it, so my father is going instead. *cries* Don't leave me alone again! TT^TT (yes, there's the word 'again')


	9. Chapter 9

"Where is he now!" I asked in a threatening tone.

"Your father works for us now, Yuu-kun." The man said calmly with the back of his chair still turned to me.

I stood up hastily and attempted to kick the table upside-down on the Tenebre boss but I stopped myself when a swift thought came to me. I laughed out loud like crazy and sat down.

The chair turned around and he faced me once again while I was laughing. "You're much madder than you father, aren't you?"

"ME? MAD! HAHAHAHA! YOU ARE THE MAD ONE!" I roared at him between fits of laughter. "C'mon, don't you fool me! Papa isn't working for you right now, as a matter of fact; he's missing from your clutches too. And you can't accept the fact that he escaped you to the extent that you're lying about it to your subordinates!"

Tenebre looked shocked and stared at me as if he was asking how I knew it.

I continued laughing. "Wanna know how I came to know it?" I asked him, grinning.

His eyes seemed to blaze with fury at me.

"I'll tell you." I gave out one last chuckle. "If Papa indeed works for you right now, you'd probably use him as bait for me, but you weren't able to do so because he isn't with you. I knew that he's missing from you right now because you weren't able to answer my question directly as how you did in my previous ones and your tone changed too. And because your subordinates think they know where Papa is, it made me believe that you lied to them, but I can't deduce why you're still telling me this despite the fact that there's only you and me in this room until I noticed the cameras at the corners of the ceiling. Hmm, so it was you who personally tortured my dear father to turn him to your side and you are also the only one in the Tenebre family who knows about the loss of a vital captive."

The man gazed thoroughly at me. He was dumbstruck, shocked, surprised, enraged, amazed and stunned at the same time. His grip on the arms of his chair was tight but shaking and he was holding his breath.

"What's wrong? Was I right to the extreme?" I asked, garnering the right to grin slyly at him this time.

He regained composure and gulped nervously. "I-I never knew Sasagawa could have such a smart son like you." He stammered as he tried to act cool.

"Stop digressing, I was right, right?" I pressed the matter on him.

He turned the back of his armchair to me again. "I wonder what's taking the other captives so long, so that I can already kill—"

"I'm afraid they won't be coming." I cut him short.

"What?" he asked, bewildered.

"I've warned them already; by now, your poor men who have a cowardly liar for a boss would have already been defeated by the Vongola." I said, grinning.

The chair spun around rather violently and Tenebre stood up. "You brat!"

He was about to fling the table at me when the door slammed open and two members of the Tenebre family stood on the threshold. One of them resembles a younger version of their boss with shorter black hair while the other has a light brown hair and looks like a local.

"Boss." The man with brown hair said faintly.

"Why are you here?" Tenebre snapped at them.

"We've heard everything from the control room, Boss. Is what the boy said true?" The other one who resemble the man he calls boss asked.

"You…" He turned to me with gritted teeth.

"Answer us, Boss; did Sasagawa Yuu say the truth?" The men stepped closer.

I smiled at myself; it seems like I've caused a big stir in the Tenebre family.

"Tell us!" The man with brown hair pushed the matter on his boss.

"Tell them." I told, or rather commanded, the boss of the Tenebre family with evident amusement in my voice.

"YES!" Tenebre replied, his voice echoing throughout the room.

"You bastard! How dare you make us look like fools! You didn't trust us despite the fact that we're a family! A vital captive have escaped and you're not telling us because of your pride. You insulted the entire Tenebre family, Bertrando! _Ti insultato tutta la famiglia!_" The man who resembles his boss accused the latter. His voice was slightly quivering with rage and he spoke with mixed Italian.

"Yes! _Si, l'ho fatto!_ But what are you going to do about it, _il mio fratellino?_" The boss asked the man who called him Bertrando.

Papa used to go to Italy in business trips and sometimes, he would teach me bits of Italian. I was able to understand the last phrase of the boss and was surprised when he called the man his little brother (_il mio fratellino)._

"I gave way to your being boss, Bertrando, because I was convinced that you will lead us as good as how Papà used to! But now, you betrayed us! _Ci hai tradito!"_ the man called 'little brother' yelled at the boss.

"And what can you do about it, Raul." Bertrando asked.

"_Ne ho abbastanza del tuo dominio ingiusto, fratello._" The man named Raul snapped a gun from his pocket and shot Bertrando Tenebre on the head which immediately killed him. He walked towards the corpse and took a ring from the latter's right hand finger which he placed on his own. "_Addio, caro fratello._"

"Fujioka, release the boy." The man who killed his boss/brother told the other man in the room.

"Yes, Boss." The man with brown hair untied the rope that bound my hands.

"Boss?" I asked, dazed by the sudden turn of events.

"I am Raul Tenebre, brother of the late Bertrando Tenebre. Since my brother is not yet married and has no son of his own, I, as the younger brother, would succeed him if he dies before me. I was sick of Bertrando-niisan's unjust leadership and thus killed him, making myself the boss of the Tenebre family right now." He explained, sitting on the armchair his brother occupied a while ago. "Thank you for revealing the truth about my brother's lies, Sasagawa Yuu."

I sensed that this man is not as bad as his brother and eventually felt a mild liking for him so I took up the courage to speak to him. "A-ahno, can I ask you a question or two?"

"I would be honored to answer you with everything I know." He replied.

"M-my father, do you… can you…" I can't find the right words; I just wanted to ask about Papa.

"Sasagawa Ryohei was indeed kidnapped by us and was personally tortured by Nii-san to turn him to our side." He took out a journal from one of the table's drawer and flicked through its pages. 'It seems," he stopped on a page, "that a week ago, he escaped smoothly via unknown means and we hadn't heard of him ever since."

"I-is that so." I said, hanging my head. "How about the picture?"

Raul Tenebre gave me a questioning look.

"The picture; the family picture I dropped somewhere yesterday. You traced me through that right? Can I have it now?" I asked earnestly.

"I'm sorry, Yuu, but we traced you through investigations we carried on ourselves and not through a certain picture." Raul Tenebre answered. I can tell that he was saying the entire truth.

I was saddened.

"You're now free to go, Sasagawa Yuu. I'll have you escorted back to your home later." The new boss of the Tenebre family told me.

"Thank you." I replied.

"No, no. Thank _you._" Raul said, smiling.

I smiled back.

"Fujioka, please request the monitoring department to air all the events in this room for the past fifteen or so minutes to all members of the family so that they'll be informed of my getting into power." Tenebre told the man with light brown hair.

The man named Fujioka made a call.

"And can you please escort the young man back to his home." The boss of the Tenebre family kindly smiled at me.

"My pleasure, Boss. Let's go, Sasagawa-kun." Fujioka led me out of the room.

I looked back at Raul Tenebre before we exited the doors of the room. He spun the armchair around and gazed languidly past the window, probably in deep thoughts. He looks like his brother but his features suggest not just a younger one but also a kinder character, his smile was true and transparent, his manners were naturally kind and I can see from his eyes that he is a compassionate man.

Outside the room, the monitors in the building were playing the scenes recorded by the cameras in the room we just left.

"Raul-sama is younger than Bertrando-sama by seven years." Fujioka told me as we walked along corridors. "I have been with them for ten years ever since Raul-sama took me into the Tenebre family after my parents died during my first year in middle school. Raul-sama studied middle school and high school here in Japan and we were classmates. Raul-sama isn't like Bertrando-sama at all. Bertrando-sama is a devil in disguise." Fujioka-san frowned.

"How could you say so, Fujioka-san?" I asked as we stepped into the elevator.

"When Raul-sama was still in Japan, we lived together and when he was called back to Italy after high school, he took me with him. I lived in the Tenebre mansion with the brothers and I noted that Bertrando-sama is a soulless person. Whenever he's in front of their father, Bertrando acts nice in order to win his father's favor and be chosen as the next boss. Raul-sama is a kind person, a true son, a good friend and a loving brother. He knows his position as a second son and always supports his older brother in everything, though most of the time, he does it half-heartedly. Their father died four years ago and Bertrando became the boss. He was power hungry and he wants to be on top of everybody, and thus, he had fights with other mafia families including the Vongola. Bertrando-sama would have everything obey all his wills even if he would massacre the whole world just for the sake of it." Fujioka-san narrated.

We stepped out of the elevator and walked out of the building as the other members of the Tenebre family celebrated the rise of Raul Tenebre to power. A car was waiting for us outside the building and we rode it, with Fujioka-san driving.

"Fujioka-san, were you able to meet my father?" I asked him curiously as we drove through the streets beneath the morning sun.

"Yes. Sasagawa Ryohei sure is a tough guy. Bertrando-sama had him locked up in the darkest room in the basement and the boss would go there often just to torture him by different means; he sometimes uses illusions on him, but Sasagawa-san never succumbed to being a member of the family. I was the one who brings him food and I sometimes get the chance to talk to him. Sometimes, when his mind is in a very hazy manner after a series of beatings, he would gaze blindly into space and talk about his son. He would tell me about kite-flying, playgrounds, fishing, swimming, gardening, boxing, camping and even about the bedtime stories he reads to you when you were little." Fujioka-san chuckled.

"He still remembers all those." I mumbled to myself, my eyes pricked with tears.

"He's kinda forgetful but he treasures every memory he has with you. Once, I felt so bad for him that I told him that if he really doesn't want to become a part of the Tenebre family, why don't he ask Bertrando-sama to kill him and end all his sufferings instead?" Fujioka-san smiled with a bit of bitterness. "And you know what he said? He said, 'I'll continue living as long as I know that Yuu-chan is living. Someday, I'll break outta here and reunite with my son. Right now, all I can see is darkness to the extreme, but there's still light burning somewhere in that darkness, and that light is my child. He's waiting somewhere in the darkness for me, as long as I haven't heard that the Tenebre hadn't laid their hands on my Yuu-chan, I'll still refuse and continue living for him to the extreme.' That's what your father said."

The tears flowed down on my cheeks. "Papa said that?"

"Yes, he did. And, as you may know, I was orphaned at almost the same age as you are now. I know how hard it is to lose your parents at such an age. If Raul-sama didn't help me back then, I don't know if I'm talking to you right now while driving this car. I don't want another child to lose his beloved parent without even knowing it so, I helped your father escape." He said, glancing at me and giving me a wink.

"You helped him get out?" I asked, my eyes wide with amazement. "Wh-where is he?"

"He didn't tell me where he planned to go because he said that I've already done too much for him." Fujioka-san replied.

The car came to a halt and we were in front of the place where the apartment I rented was situated. We got out of the car and Fujioka-san accompanied me to the unit I was renting.

"Would you come in and have some snack, Fujioka-san?" I asked him as I unlocked the door with the key from my voodoo doll keychain.

"No, thank you. I must go back to the base now and see what our new boss is planning to do." He replied.

"Okay. Please congratulate him for me." I said, smiling.

"I must thank you for him, then." He replied, smiling back. "Yuu-kun, you are the sun that gives life and illuminates your Papa's world; never lose your brightness and this luster of yours would lead your father's path back to you."

**~end of chapter~**

**Author's note:**

Poor table, what has it done? *sniff*

Now, let's explain the meanings of the Italian phrases:

_Ti insultato tutta la famiglia-_ You insulted the whole family

_Si, l'ho fatto- _Yes, I did

_Ci hai tradito- _You betrayed us

_Ne ho abbastanza del tuo dominio ingiusto, fratello- _I've had enough of your unjust dominion, brother

_Addio, caro fratello-_ Goodbye, dear brother

Now, the name meanings! Whee! :D

Tenebre- darkness

Bertrando- bright raven

Raul- wise wolf

Fujioka- it's a surname which means someone living near mount Fuji

**PLEASE REVIEW! :3**


	10. Chapter 10

"Nii-chan!" A woman called out.

"Nii-san, you can't you haven't fully recovered!" A man called out too, joining the woman in their front yard.

But the man with a slinged right hand and patches of plaster throughout his body continued to walk forward and went out of the gate. He stopped in front of a parked car outside the house.

By that time, another man ran out of the house.

"You won't mind if I drive your car, won't you, Octopus-head?" The man in front of the car asked the one who just went out of the house.

"Wha-wait! Oy! Lawn-head, you can't!"

But it was too late; the man ripped the sling off his right hand, entered the car and dashed off, violating the speed limit if there was.

"Nobody can stop him once he drives." The woman mumbled.

**-o-**

"Mmmh… So… Let's see." I mumbled to myself as I scanned the refrigerator.

Inside, there was a box of pizza with two slices left in it, two cans of root beer, one-third of a block of butter, two one-liter bottles filled with water, milk, and one little egg sitting on a tray for eight of its kind.

My stomach suggested something, but I didn't understand what it meant except for a low grumble.

"It's getting cold, isn't it?" I asked my stomach as I ducked in front of the freezing interior of the refrigerator with my pony-tailed long hair while wearing red boxer shorts for my only clothing.

My stomach groaned once more in reply.

Having finally decided over just one good choice, I snatched the pizza box and a can of root beer out of the ref and sat on the table. I put one pizza slice over the other and devoured it ravenously within thirty seconds. The root beer in the can followed the pizza in my stomach. I went straight to my bedroom after putting the box and the can into the trash.

In the bedroom, I found a white shirt and a pair of grayish-blue jogging pants lying idly on the floor. I shoved them aside with my foot; a pretty harsh treatment for the clothes that covered me a while ago. I was sleepy and more than ten hours worth of somnolence crept into my system. I yawned a long, satisfying yawn and threw myself on the bed. I'm supposed to be working at the pool again today but I needed sleep to the extreme.

"I'd just tell them I caught flu." I murmured and shifted on the bed.

Two years ago, I decided to look for my father after returning to Namimori, through a travel which depended on luck, but I did not know how to start at all. When I tried going back to our house, I was immediately intimidated by the sight of three to five men in black suits hovering around the vicinity who seemed to be waiting for someone. Still traumatized by the kidnapping of my father and still blaming his connections to the mafia for his loss, I didn't give a thought whether they're enemy or not and ran off to spend the night in the streets. I returned the next day, though, and saw the same men around the house. I observed them until afternoon, and some other men arrived by nightfall to exchange places with them for a supposed 'nightshift'. I followed the men to wherever they were going to return with a bike I 'borrowed' from someone in the neighborhood. Although I pedaled to the extreme, it was not sufficient to keep up with the car which was running at full speed. I gradually lost track of the car and after some rest, I pedaled back to where I 'borrowed' the bike in hopes of 'returning' it peacefully.

The 'returning' of the bike wasn't really very peaceful. The owner was enraged and even brought his buddies along to beat me up which came to a vise versa result. A personnel of a certain underground arena happened to be watching me as I fought them and he invited me to the 'business' afterward. I accepted the offer and, after knowing that I don't have a place to stay at the time, he helped me find this apartment unit.

Shortly after I turned twelve, Papa got me into the job of being a lifeguard after his good friend, the manager of the pool, lost one and saw me swimming then asked Papa if I could work at the pool. Some months later, the semi-hyperactive Sasagawa Yuu went missing and since his quiet, morose and scarred look-a-like, Hakujitsu Akio, popped out of nowhere, it was easy for me to get the job _again._

After having assured of a stable lifestyle, I resumed looking for Papa. I guess 'looking' wouldn't be the appropriate term because I do not really make desperate moves like asking random passers-by, calling his name or anything like that. My jobs are both exposed to the public, (whether the public public or the private/underground public) so all I have to do is some eavesdropping, observing, feeling, socializing and being alert; and if I find a certain clue or opportunity about my search, I'd grab it. Though most of the time, or all of the time, these opportunities did not turn out to be anything of help. Until just now, I thought I was averted from my search by being in a slight connection with my cousin, but instead, I went close to finding Papa but not very very close.

"_Yuu-kun, you are the sun that gives life and illuminates your Papa's world; never lose your brightness and this luster of yours would lead your father's path back to you." _Fujioka-san's word filled my thoughts.

"Never lose my brightness…" I repeated to myself. "Never lose what?"

I shifted on the bed and fell asleep.

**-o-**

The brakes of the car screeched in front of an apartment. An elderly woman, who is the landlady of the apartment, stopped sweeping her yard and gazed at the car. A man, probably between his late thirties or early forties, stepped out of the car.

"Good morning, madam," the man greeted, "do you live here?"

"Yes, I'm the landlady of this apartment." The woman answered.

"Well, uh, do you know a boy? He's fourteen years old now, for two months and sixteen days. He's got wavy coffee locks. And, um, he kinda looks like me, particularly the eyes and nose; and, well, his mouth and his chin are slightly feminine 'cuz he got 'em from his mom. He's a bit hyperactive sometimes; he's a strong lad and quite an athletic kid. He's a smart boy, smarter than me you know, though I must admit many people are smarter than me. He loves pizza and root beer and fireflies and bears and moose and wallabies and number two pencils. And he likes yellow, red, green, blue and black and he usually gets up in denim stuffs. It's been a habit for him to wake up at eight in the morning however late he sleeps, and he sleeps with a pillow on his face. He doesn't like soft pillows and he's a tiny bit oblivious too. Oh and, he likes jumping rope and shadow-boxing and he hates sweets and the sound of rustling plastic. He likes roses, daffodils, irises and sunflowers. He likes kite-flying too. He intentionally stomps into puddles even at the age of twelve; he doesn't get along with little children. He scratches the back of his left ear five to eight times a day and he pulls on his toes when he's Indian-sitting. He cuts his nails on Saturdays and wears yellow on Fridays. He's also ticklish at the hips and he's such a— oww! Ow!" The man could not have been stopped describing the boy if not for the sudden stinging pain on his injured left rib.

The landlady, who patiently listened to all of these, finally got the chance to speak. "Well, I don't know of the other things you're talking about but," she looked at the man who was clutching his aching rib, "you said he has a wavy coffee colored hair and looks much like you, I think you're talking about Akio-kun."

"Akio? That's not what we named him." The man whispered to himself. "I'd like to see him anyways."

**-o-**

I was sleeping on my bed soundly, the rays of the morning sun striking the sheets that covered me. It was already past eight in the morning, but I really needed sleep so I dozed on. The sunlight strokes my closed eyelids and I was disturbed so I put a pillow on my face. I scratched the back of my left ear with the fingers whose nails I forgot to cut yesterday which was a Saturday.

My back was turned to the bedroom door which was left open. I was half-awakened when the side of my bed sank with the weight pressed upon it and my blanket was pulled up.

Someone joined me on the bed. I felt arms wrap my naked torso but I did not feel uncomfortable at all. As a matter of fact, I turned around and hugged that person back with my left foot automatically wrapping the person's legs.

_Wait! I only do this to one and only one person!_ My thoughts were finally awakened. I opened my eyes and discovered the pillow still on my face, preventing me to see who the person was.

I did not have to move then, because the hand on my hip was pulled back. A hand held the side of the pillow and lifted it up, revealing the sunlit face of Sasagawa Ryohei.

"Good morning, baby, are you awake?" he greeted.

"Papaaa!" I wanted to complain with his calling me 'baby' but I set it aside and squeezed him.

"Ow! That hurts to the extreme, Yuu-chan." He said, laughing.

I don't care if it hurts or not and I hugged him tighter instead, never ever wanting to let go anymore in fear that he would disappear once again.

He hugged me too, and no doubt, it was Papa's embrace.

**~end of chapter~**

**Author's note:**

Hold it! Hold it! I'm not finished yet! I know there are more things to make clear. So, please, please wait for me to finish another chapter.

Where did I get those descriptions? Ah well, it's the mixed description of me and my own father's description of myself. :3

**REVIEWS ARE APPRECIATED TO THE EXTREME!**


	11. Chapter 11

I really used to be an energetic child who often prances around and never stays still for too long, even in my sleep. I had a thing for flowers, insects and also fighting; but Papa says I was never really a problem to anybody and it's easy to make me understand things. I was happy and content with my family; until one day, a group of men attacked our house and thus, Mama died protecting me from a bullet. Since then, I blamed myself for what happened and shut myself up from the whole world which I thought blamed me too. I saw myself in the other kids and because I hated myself, I hated them too. My dislike for children ensues until now because I still see the younger me in them. Papa tried his best in cheering me up and he did everything just to pull back the son he used to have. He was successful, but I was noticeably quieter than before.

One summer day, two years ago, Papa took me out of town to go camping. We stayed there for three days. On the third day, just when we were packing our things, _that incident_ happened. They were able to take my father, but I escaped. I managed to return to Namimori by following vehicles on foot. Some passers-by offered me rides, but I refused, not wanting to trust anybody anymore. It was just either by luck or by survival (or both) that I managed to find my way back in good terms.

**-o-**

Papa, on the other hand, was brought to the Tenebre family. They wanted to turn them to their side. Words didn't work for him and they began using anguish, pain and threats on him. He refused, endured, stayed tough and had faith all those years. He earned the sympathy of the man named Fujioka Masanori who helped him escape just a week ago.

He was bludgeoned and severely injured as he made his way from the Tenebre family. Luckily, the tenth Vongola boss found him and brought him to his house where his wife, Papa's sister, my aunt, Sawada Kyoko, took care of him and nursed him back to health. One day, yesterday, particularly, Sora mentioned to him about the boy whom she feels is me (who is really me) and Gokudera Hayato told them about the boy on the fence of the Sasagawa residence on that day too. He showed them the picture the boy dropped when he jumped down the fence and Papa confirmed it as the family picture taken on my third birthday.

They traced me through the storm guardian's description of the boy and also through the Vongola's authority. As soon as they had a clue of my location, Papa went straight to me without waiting for further confirmation.

That was what my father told me.

**-One week later: Sasagawa residence-**

"What? Middle school? P-papa, y-you can't! I… I…" I glared at my father who was cooking breakfast.

"I really wonder how you were able to escape school to the extreme for two years." He replied, ignoring my outburst.

"But, Papa!" 

"You're going to attend Namimori Middle School as freshman once the classes resume."

"But…"

"It isn't extremely bad at all, Yuu-chan, your cousin and her friends are going as freshmen too."

"But…"

"Hey, I know you hate studies as much as I did, but school is great! You get to join clubs and make friends to the extreme!"

"but…" I mumbled to myself. There's no more protesting now, I'm going to Namimori Middle.

**~The End~**

**Author's note:**

As you can see, I guess, this was done in a bit of rush. I know this story is filled with flaws, and I got too lazy to smoothen it because I've got to go to school soon and I've got to prepare. Yeah, I'm going to school as senior high so, it's gonna be a bit hard.

Thank you very much for reading to the extreme! :D

Oh and special thanks to my father and his friend, my godfather, who asked him to go to his birthday party. If Papa didn't go home drunk, I wouldn't get the idea of this. Obviously, the whole idea started with the story's introduction.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! (I finished this on father's day, so I'm greeting you all) especially to my father who's out of town with his dear sister right now (and who promised to get me a ring of sun once he gets back). And to my uncle who's too 'busy' to accompany my aunt but is now going to take me and my cousin to the movies tomorrow (oh brother). And to all fathers out there, happy father's day to the extreme! :D

**Thank you all! Review and review… :D**


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